Maria Sharapova, who won the ladies singles title 10 years ago, was in attendance to cheer on Dimitrov.

Boris Becker, a former Wimbledon champion himself, has been coaching Novak Djokovic since December 2013.

The 23-year-old struggled in the opening set with Djokovic dominating proceedings. The Serb star, ranked second in the world, took the set 6-4 in 27 minutes to take control of the contest.

Dimitrov suffered an early setback in the second set, losing his serve as Djokovic threatened to overrun the Bulgarian. But Dimitrov hit back, finally finding his feet and winning the set 6-3 to level the match.

Djokovic, who was taken to five sets in his quarterfinal by Croatia's Marin Cilic, recovered in the third set. The six-time grand slam champion won it on a tiebreak 7-2.

It was close, but there was no need for five sets here. Djokovic saved three set points in the fourth set tie-break before closing out to ensure another Wimbledon final appearance.

Djokovic and Dimitrov embrace at the end of their Wimbledon semifinal match.

Djokovic knows he will face either Roger Federer or Milos Raonic in Sundays final. The Swiss arrived on court in imperious mood, breaking Raonic early on and taking the first set 6-4.

Milos Raonic serves during the first set his semifinal encounter with Roger Federer at Wimbledon. The young Canadian showed nerves early on but steadied as the first set went on.

Prince Andrew graces Centre Court with is royal presence, although he looks less than impressed.

Not quite so Royal but not quite so unimpressed. Bradley Cooper watches on with his girlfriend, British model Suki Waterhouse.

Things didn't improve much for Raonic in the second set. The 23-year-old dropped serve for the second the match during the ninth game.

Federer went on to serve out the set and take a 2-0 lead going into the third.

As went the second, so did the third. Federer broke Raonic at 4-4 meaning he would have the chance to serve out the match at reach the Wimbledon final for a tenth time.

Was there ever any doubt? Federer takes the acclaim after serving out to ensure a 6-4 6-4 6-4 victory in one hour and 41 minutes. He will now face Novak Djokovic in Sunday's final.

HIDE CAPTION

Second coming?

Determined Dimitrov

Sharapova support

Becker's boy

Dimtrov doubt

Grigor's grit

Tense times

Novak triumphs

A warm embrace

Wimbledon Men's Semifinals

Serving up a classic?

Royal seal of approval

Suffering the hangover?

Hanging in there

On the road

The final beckons

Roger's house!

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STORY HIGHLIGHTS

Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer reach Wimbledon final

Djokovic defeats Bulgaria's Grigor Dimitrov

Federer overcomes Milos Raonic

Djokovic lost to Andy Murray in last year's final while Federer now goes for 18th grand slam

Not for the quality of tennis, mind you, but for the momentum shifts, some of the unforced errors and the number of slips.

On one occasion, Dimitrov and Djokovic took a tumble at almost the same time and faced each other close to the net, much to the crowd's delight.

Kvitova seeks second Wimbledon crown

Sharapova's Wimbledon triumph

Wimbledon's 'giant umbrella'

Ivanisevic: Wimbledon's luckiest wildcard?

For the combatants, the court must have felt like a skating rink.

Maybe playing in front of Maria Sharapova -- Dimitrov's girlfriend -- was just too much for the duo. Sharapova is also friends with Djokovic, though her loyalties weren't divided on Center Court.

"At a certain stage of the match I was frustrated because I again allowed my opponent to come back to the match," Djokovic, referring to his quarterfinal against Marin Cilic, told reporters. "That's something that I definitely cannot allow myself in the finals against Roger."

The conditions weren't easy. It was windy and hot.

But Djokovic was in control, leading by a set and break, and he led by a break in the fourth set before needing to rally from 6-3 down in the tiebreak.

Indeed, when it looked like Dimitrov would force a fifth set, the match resembled last year's Wimbledon semifinal between Djokovic and Juan Martin del Potro.

Djokovic also held the advantage in the fourth set then but lost it and was forced into a fifth, which no doubt affected his display in the finale against Andy Murray.

The silky smooth Federer had no such problems with his footing, his court positioning further up than Djokovic and Dimitrov. Raonic and Dimitrov, part of the younger guard, played in their first grand slam semifinals.

Djokovic hired Boris Becker in the off-season -- the German was one of the best volleyers of his generation -- but the Serb only won 57% of net points Friday. On a first match point in the fourth-set tiebreak, he failed to put away two volleys, temporarily keeping Dimitrov in the affair.

Becker declined an interview request from CNN after the match.

Djokovic put in a worrying display (for his fans at least) Wednesday too, taken to five sets by Cilic. He won the first set against Cilic and had a 9-0 record against the Croatian prior to Wimbledon.

If this was 2011, when Djokovic won three majors, he'd have coasted.

"When Novak is at his best, you think, 'How can anyone beat him?" asked Wally Masur, an Australian tennis analyst who won three titles during his playing days. "But hanging on to his best for long periods of time is something that has really kind of eluded him since he had that brilliant year.

At 6-6 in the fourth-set tiebreak, he gifted Djokovic a double fault for a second match point.

Federer, who improved to 9-0 in Wimbledon semifinals, handled Raonic in as routine a fashion as the score suggested.

He broke once in each set and wasn't broken himself.

Federer leads Djokovic 18-16 head-to-head -- including 2-1 this year -- but the last time they squared off in a grand slam final was at the 2007 US Open.

"We've played a lot actually in the last six months," Federer, bidding for a record-extending 18th men's major, told the BBC. "It's gone back and forth. He's a great champion and has been around now for a long time, so he's used to these occasions. I hope it's going to be a good match."

An even more relevant statistic? Djokovic is 0-5 in his last five grand slam finals outside Australia.

"I don't want to sound like I'm not appreciating to play finals of a grand slam," said Djokovic. "It's already a huge result. We cannot take that for granted. But I know that I can win the title.

"I should have won a few matches that I lost in the finals of grand slams in the last couple of years. It's a learning process.

"It's understanding, identifying where the problem is, pushing for it, working on it. It's mental in the end of the day."